Cryothermal manipulation of petroleum spills on water

ABSTRACT

The subject invention relates to method and apparatus for controlling or manipulating a body of crude, refined, or used petroleum as, for example: in the herding and recovery of an oil spill in a body of water; in temporarily stopping a leak in an oil tanker caused by a cracked hull; in recovering oil inadvertantly spilled on a beach front; in plugging an oil casing pipe to control an oil fire at sea on a drilling platform; in effecting preliminary refinement of oil at the oil rig site; in transporting oil from the Arctic or Antarctic region without resorting to complicated and costly apparatus; and in many other applications. The method basically comprises exposing a body of crude, refined, or used petroleum mass either to a transient atmosphere or environment of a freezing, sub-freezing, or cryogenics temperature, or contacting the petroleum with a substance or mechanism exhibiting freezing, sub-freezing, or cryogenics temperatures. The apparatus comprises mechanisms for handling substances at freezing, sub-freezing or cryogenics temperatures and capable of maintaining said material in the vicinity of the petroleum mass.

The present invention relates to the reaction of petroleum to extremecold, and more particularly the development of surface tension when amass of petroleum is exposed to cryothermal temperatures. Cryothermaltemperature refers to a temperature which corresponds to the freezingtemperature of water at sea level, or below, whereby it may be atfreezing, sub-freezing, or at cryogenics temperatures. As is well known,cryogenics temperatures are employed in the branch of physics known ascryogenics which relates to the production of and effects of very lowtemperatures on various substances.

In a mass of liquid or semi-liquid petroleum, whether it be refined,crude or used, there is an amorphous or random disposition of themolecules, intermixed with whatever chemicals, solids, liquids, andgases that are present in the petroleum mass. When surface tension isdeveloped in the petroleum mass, there is called into being a moreorderly arrangement or disposition of these molecules which, because oftheir electromagnetic effect, one to the other, produces a certaincurvature to the surface of the petroleum mass. Permitting the surfacetension to migrate inward into the mass, causes the petroleum to exhibitcertain phenomena. This invention pertains to the contact or exposure ofa petroleum mass to a freezing, sub-freezing or cryogenics temperaturepresent in a transient atmospheric environment. Likewise, the inventionis applicable to an arrangement wherein petroleum is subjected to amachine, apparatus or mechanism which exhibits freezing, sub-freezing orcryogenics temperatures. Because of the reaction of petroleum tocryogenics temperatures, the petroleum mass tends to move, and moreparticularly, to pull in or contract very rapidly. Specifically, thereaction of petroleum is to move very sharply and very quickly away fromthe lower temperature environment increasing in reaction as thetemperature decreases, while at the same time increasing its surfacetension. Because of the development of the surface tension and the veryorderly arrangement of the molecules of the petroleum mass, as opposedto the amorphous disposition, the petroleum literally squeezes out anyforeign matter from the petroleum mass, whether it be solid, liquid, orgas.

In general, the act of freezing liquids, including petroleum, causes aslowing down of the atomic motion of the molecules of the liquid. As themovement of the molecules is inhibited, they tend to come together underthe influence of the electromagnetic field between the molecules.However, unlike other liquids, during the contraction of oil substancessuch as petroleum, there is a forcing out of the foreign matter disposedbetween the molecules. This same phenomena occurs in water, that is, theforcing out of entrained foreign matter in the liquid. When waterfreezes, the ice substance takes on the forms of tetrahedral crystals,with the electrical charges at each end of each tetrahydral. Thus, theend point of each tetrahedral crystal is attracted to the adjacent endof the adjacent tetrahydral crystal, thereby resulting in an orderlydisposition of the molecules. The same arrangement and phenomena isachieved in oil. Once an orderly arrangement of molecules is achieved,there is only one or two angstroms of space between adjacent molecules.This extremely small space is primarily occupied by the electromagneticforce field between the molecules. Hence, there is little or no room forforeign matter in the resulting oil mass. The degree of elimination offoreign matter from the orderly arrangement of molecules of thepetroleum mass which has been subjected to a cryogenics temperature, ispredicated on the degree of abstraction of heat from the oil mass. Thefaster it freezes, the faster the foreign material is squeezed out ofthe petroleum mass. In order to completely remove the foreign matter,including the gases and chemicals that are entrained in the oil, thepresent invention employs a universal solvent, i.e. water. Waterresponds very well as a universal solvent, and also, in that thefreezing of water forms ice crystals that have an electrical charge ateach end of the tetrahedral, the charges will act as nucleation points,thereby aiding in the drawing of foreign matter entrained in the oilmass to the frozen water crystals.

When a petroleum mass is subjected to a cryothermal environment, surfacetension occurs at the periphery of the mass which is first exposed tothe cryothermal environment. The colder the cryothermal environment, thecolder the oil becomes, and hence, the more any foreign matter presentin the petroleum mass is dislodged and forced out. Surface tension ofthe petroleum mass indicates contraction of the petroleum mass, and thespeed of contraction is a direct function of the temperature of thecryothermal substance. Thus, the lower the temperature the petroleumcomes in contact with or is exposed to, the greater and faster thedegree of contraction. This particular response of petroleum tofreezing, sub-freezing and cryogenics temperatures permits petroleum tobe directionalized, as more fully described hereinafter.

It should be noted that when reference is made to the word cryogenics,it is intended to refer to a substance such as liquid nitrogen which isa liquid and a temperature in the range of -321° F. to -345° F. On theother hand, as mentioned above, cryothermal is not cryogenics, butrefers to the temperature of a substance which is at a temperaturecorresponding to freezing or sub-freezing of water or at cryogenicstemperatures. Furthermore, it is to be noted that the field ofcryogenics is presently being used in such applications as cryogenicsurgery, cryogenic preservation of foods, such as fast freezing, and inaddition, cryogenics is presently being used in the oil industry in anattempt to employ cryogenics to condense casing gases to form gasolineas the gases leave the oil well. The two major gases which are used incryogenics in the liquified form are liquid oxygen and liquid nitrogen.

The subject technique for manipulating an oil mass such as petroleum maybe employed in several applications. Fundamentally, the subjecttechnique comprises the steps of providing a mass of material at acryothermal temperature, followed by positioning said mass ofcryothermal material into the vicinity of a petroleum mass so as tocreate surface tension in the petroleum and thereby enable thedirectionalization of the petroleum mass, or to increase the surfacetension to a point whereby the petroleum mass is solidified.

The subject invention has particular application with respect to theproblem of recovering oil that is inadvertantly spilled on a body ofwater such as the ocean, as for example when an oil well casing leaks orwhen the hull of an oil tanker is damaged and petroleum escapes. One ofthe known techniques used for removing oil spills and the like fromoceans or large bodies of water is a technique known as chemicalherding. One of the primary disadvantages of chemical herding is thepossible infusion of chemicals in the surrounding flora or fauna, aswell as the problem with respect to the amount of chemicals that arerequired for controlling an oil spill. In addition, the chemical herdingtechnique is extremely costly, and the efficiency of the chemicalherding system is greatly compromised in turbulent waters.

Another application of the subject technique is for the removal of oilfrom sandy beaches. At present, known techniques include the use ofabsorbing material such as straw, followed by removal of the top layerof sand. As is readily apparent, this is an extremely expensiveprocedure and very inefficient. It is also difficult to recover the oil.

Another problem associated with petroleum is in the transporting ofpetroleum by the use of large oil tankers. As is well known, tankershave developed large cracks which resulted in the seepage of oil intothe ocean, and the creation of oil spills. No known technique has beendeveloped for temporarily repairing a crack while the ship is at sea,and hence the only way of allieviating this condition is to pump all ofthe oil out of the compartment which has the crack.

A still further application of the subject invention is with respect tothe problem associated with oil fires existing at the oil casing of adrilling rig. As is well known, the present techniques for stopping afire which has developed at the well head is to employ high explosivematerials so as to create a temporary environment around the well headso as to deprive the immediate vicinity of oxygen, thereby effecting animmediate cessation of the combustion of oil. As is well known, this isan extremely dangerous and hazardous technique.

A still further application of the subject technique is with respect tothe refining of petroleum. At present, as petroleum leaves the wellhead, the oil and water are separated, after which the oil is sent to anoil holding tank, and subsequently shipped to the refinery for furtherprocessing. Usually no preliminary refining is attempted at the wellhead because of the generally costly equipment required.

A still further application in which the subject technique may beemployed is with respect to the transporting of oil from extremely coldregions such as the Arctic. At present, it has been proposed toconstruct an oil pipe line across the State of Alaska, and along theentire length of this pipe, it will be necessary to heat the pipe lineso as to ensure that the oil flows freely. As is readily apparent, thisis an extremely costly and complicated system. An alternative would beto load the oil from the wells directly into large tankers, however,with this procedure it is necessary to ensure that the water lanes forthe tankers are constantly open, even during winter.

Accordingly, it is the primary object of the subject invention todescribe technique and apparatus for overcoming all of the shortcomingsof the known techniques and apparatuses with respect to the specificapplications described. More particularly, the subject inventionprovides a technique which is applicable to the herding of oil spills toenable the ready collection thereof; to removing oil spills on sandybeaches; to temporary repairing of ocean going oil tankers; to thecontrol of oil from a well head to stop the flow of oil after an oilfire has developed; to the pre-refining of oil as it leaves a well head;and to an efficient and economical technique for transporting oil from awell head in the Artic to a refinery.

Fundamentally, the method of the subject invention for manipulating apetroleum mass comprises the steps of providing a mass of material at acryothermal temperature, and positioning said mass of cryothermalmaterial in the vicinity of the petroleum so as to increase the surfacetension of the petroleum. The increase in surface tension of thepetroleum causes a contraction of the petroleum mass, and a realignmentof the molecules of the petroleum mass which results in the expulsion offoreign matter from the petroleum. The expulsion of the foreign mattereffectively achieves a pre-refining of the petroleum mass. Thedevelopment of surface tension also enables the movement of the mass ofcryothermal material to control and directionalize the direction ofmovement of the petroleum mass so that the subject technique may be usedfor herding purposes. Furthermore, after sufficient exposure of thepetroleum mass to the mass of cryothermal material, the petroleum masswill tend to solidify, whereby the subject technique may be used forsolidifying petroleum flowing from a crack in an ocean going vessel soas to form a temporary plug to prevent the spillage of petroleum from adisabled vessel. The solidification of the petroleum may also beemployed for solidifying the flow of petroleum leaving a well head so asto effectively provide a plug in the well head. The plug will deprivethe petroleum in the well head from oxygen, and hence will be effectivein putting out a fire at the well head site. In a situation where an oilspill has occurred on a sandy beach, the mass of cryothermal materialemployed in the subject technique will cause freezing of the water inthe sand, and the development of the surface tension of the petroleummass, whereby the petroleum mass raises to a point above the level ofthe ice layer and the sand, whereby the petroleum may be readily skimmedor shoveled off the sandy beach.

The nature and substance of this invention, as well as its objects andadvantages and the various embodiments thereof, including the apparatusthereof, will be more clearly recognized and fully understood byreferring to the following detailed description and appended claimstaken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a method and apparatus for achieving herding of anoil spill in accordance with the subject invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 2--2 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 illustrates an alternate embodiment of the subject technique forherding of an oil spill;

FIG. 4 is a detailed sectional view of a cracked hull of an oil tankervessel in which the subject technique may be employed;

FIG. 5 is a view taken along line 5--5 in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is an apparatus for use with the subject invention in sealing acracked hull in a vessel;

FIG. 7 is a side view of an apparatus for use in conjunction with a wellcasing;

FIG. 8 is a plan view of the apparatus of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a partial sectional view of an apparatus for achievingpre-refining of petroleum according to the subject invention; and

FIG. 10 is a flow diagram of a method of achieving pre-refining ofgasoline according to the subject invention.

Before describing the several embodiments of the subject invention, itshould be noted that the basic concept of the subject invention is amethod of manipulating a body of crude, refined or used petroleum. Thisbasic capability solves many problems which have heretofore been presentwith respect to the handling, transporting, or use of petroleum. Thesubject method comprises the steps of providing a mass of material at acryothermal temperature corresponding to the freezing point of water atsea level. This temperature can be as low as a cryogenics temperature,and one of the most important aspects is that the mass of material atthe cryothermal temperature is at a temperature lower than the ambienttemperature of the body of petroleum at the initial point at which thesubject method is commenced. The mass of material at cryothermaltemperature is then next positioned adjacent the body of petroleumwhereby the surface tension of the body of petroleum is immediatelyincreased. The significant and marked increase in the surface tension ofthe body of petroleum enables the petroleum to be manipulated orcontrolled is such manner as to overcome problems previously associatedwith the handling and transporting of petroleum. As noted above, theincrease in the surface tension of the body of petroleum also has thebeneficial effect of causing the body of petroleum to undergo apre-refining stage such that impurities, whether they be gases, liquidsor solids, are expelled from the petroleum. Detailed below are onlyseveral of the many ways in which the subject method may be utilized inorder to better enable man to transport, handle, or generally controlone of his primary sources of energy, petroleum.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, the subject method may be employed forherding a body of petroleum which has inadvertently been spilled on abody of water. As is well known, oil spills have occurred because ofdamage to an oil tanker, or because of leaks which develop in off shoreoil drilling assemblies. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the oil spill isdesignated by numeral 10 and is disposed in a relatively large area on abody of water 12. In order to confine, collect, and remove the body ofpetroleum 10 from the water, the subject invention may be utilized inconjunction with an apparatus comprising a plurality of booms 14, whichare pivotally interconnected as at 16, and which are controlled by meansof a system of guide wires 18 that are connected to a crane 20 of an oilcollection vessel 22. Also included in the apparatus is a suctionapparatus 24 having a suction head 26 for collecting the body of oil,and a nozzle 28 which leads to an oil collection compartment 23 of thevessel 22. Each boom 14 is of generally L-shaped in cross-section, andis made of suitable material for flotation purposes, and includes aplurality of pivoted keels 32 which are interconnected to the boom bymeans of shafts 34. Disposed in the L-shaped cut-out of each boom 14,and facing in the direction of the oil spill is a cryothermal material30, such as dry ice. In order to herd an oil spill, the first step wouldbe to position the booms in an arrangement to facilitate the collectionof the oil spill, and with the cryothermal material 30 in place. Thevessel 22 would be maneuvered in a manner such that the booms surroundthe periphery of the oil spill, and as the booms are positioned adjacentthe oil spill, the dry ice immediately causes a lowering of thetemperature of the adjacent water, and a simultaneous increase in thesurface tension of the petroleum oil spill. The increase in surfacetension of the oil spill greatly increases the ability to manipulate anddirectionalize the movement of the oil spill, and more particularly, todirectionalize the oil spill in a direction to enable the suctionapparatus 24 to efficiently suck up the oil spill for collection intothe compartment 23 of vessel 22. It should be noted that the colder thatwater 12 becomes during the herding operation, its density increases, asdoes the density of the oil, and the accumulated densification of theoil and water results in a retardation of the wave action and crestingaction of the water 12 which, of course, greatly aids in the herding andcollection operation. This is to be contrasted with presently availablechemical herding processes which are generally inefficient when thewater is rough.

Another aspect of the subject invention is that in addition to thefeatures of the technique as described above, there is a possibility offorming an almost instantaneous mass about the periphery of thepetroleum mass 12, when the temperature differential between thecryothermal material and the water is significant. The formation of aperipheral solid mass about the oil spill 10 will further aid inconfining the oil slick to a desired area for further manipulation andcollection. The provision of the movable keels 32 greatly aids incontrolling the direction of the booms, and preferably the keels shouldbe aligned with the current action of the water to minimize the amountof movement of the booms during the collection operation. Although thepreferred technique has been described with respect to the use of dryice as the mass of cryothermal material, it is readily apparent thatother materials may also be used. For example, instead of using blocksof dry ice, each of the booms 14 may be provided with expansion nozzlesand tanks of gaseous carbon dioxide or liquid nitrogen, which may besprayed along the periphery of the petroleum mass 10. As the liquidnitrogen or carbon dioxide gas is sprayed from the tank through theexpansion nozzle, it loses heat, thereby forming a cryothermal solidwhich functions in the same manner as the dry ice, as described in thepreferred embodiment.

Reference is now made to FIG. 3, wherein an alternate embodiment isshown, in which cryothermal material 42 is sprayed onto the water aboutthe periphery of an oil spill 10 by an operator in a small power boat40. Once the mass of petroleum has been confined to a designated area, acollection vessel 22, equipped with a suction apparatus 24 would beprovided for collecting the oil spill.

It is noted that in the several embodiments illustrated in FIGS. 1through 3, no chemicals have been resorted to which could affect orunbalance the natural ecology of the body of water 12. This is in sharpcontrast to the damage which might result to the fauna and Flora in awaterway if chemical herding techniques were employed.

The subject invention may also be employed with reference to the problemof cracks that develop in the hulls of large oil tankers while on thehigh seas. Referring to FIG. 4, there is shown a portion of an oiltanker 50, which has developed a crack 52 in an oil compartment, wherebyoil may readily seep through the crack 52 and result an oil spill. Inorder to temporarily seal the crack 52 to provide time for furtheraction to be taken for preventing the development of a large oil spill,the subject invention may be employed. More particularly, a mass ofmaterial at a cryothermal temperature is provided adjacent the crack 52so as to increase the surface tension of the oil seeping through thecrack 52, and the mass of cryothermal material should be maintained fora period sufficient to cause the solidification of the oil seepingthrough the crack. As more clearly illustrated in FIG. 5, aftersufficient exposure to the cryothermal material, the oil solidifies toeffectively form a plug 54 thereby temporarily sealing crack 52. At suchtime, the oil in the damaged compartment may be removed, as for exampleby pumping it into a temporary resilient storage tank, after which thecrack may be repaired by conventional techniques in order to enable theoil tanker to reach port for permanent repairs. FIG. 6 illustrates oneform of apparatus for providing and positioning the mass of cryothermalmaterial immediately adjacent a crack 52 in the hull 50. Asschematically illustrated, the apparatus generally comprises a watertight head portion 60 including a plurality of nozzles 62, with the headportion connected via a hollow beam assembly 64 to a source orcryothermal material (not shown) such as liquid nitrogen or liquidcarbon dioxide. The apparatus is lowered such that the head is oppositethe crack 52, after which cryothermal material is introduced through thebeam assembly 64 and out the nozzles 62 for impingment around the areasurrounding the crack 52. As noted above, the cryothermal materialeffectively increases the surface tension of the petroleum seepingthrough the crack 52, and eventually causes the solidification of theseeping petroleum so as to effectively form a plug 54 for temporarilysealing the crack.

Another application of the technique of the subject invention is tocontrol oil fires at sea on oil drilling platforms. Fundamentally, thesubject technique of putting out oil fires provides for the placing of arefrigeration collar around the oil casing. A cryothermal material,preferably liquid nitrogen, is pumped into the collar whereby the casingis chilled, and correspondingly, the oil flow through the collar issimultaneously chilled. As the oil flow is chilled, the surface tensionthereof is increased until a zero pour condition of the oil is attainedin the vicinity of the collar. More particularly, the oil forms a plugthereby preventing further oil from being conducted through the casing.The stopping of the oil flow cuts off the supply of oxygen to the oil,thereby quickly extinguishing the fire fed by oil in the casing. Ifwater is a part of the substance being conducted through the casing, icewill rapidly form and facilitate the development of the plug in theflow. An example of the type of collar which may be employed in thesubject invention is illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8. More particularly, acasing pipe 70 which extends to an underground deposit of oil (notshown) has mounted thereon a hollow, annular collar 72 made of twosections, each including flanges 73 that are bolted together as at 74.The annular enclosure defined by the collar 72 is provided with acryothermal material supply line 76, and a cryothermal material returnline 78. In addition, a vent line 80 is in communication with theinterior of the collar 72. Suitable insulation is provided on theannular collar 72, the supply line 76, and the return line 78. Inoperation, when it is desired to stop the flow of oil through the casing70, cryothermal material is supplied to the collar 70 via the supplyline 76, circulates within the annular collar 72, and is exhaustedthrough the return line 78. It is noted that when the apparatusillustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8 is used on an offshore drilling site, theannular collar 72 should be placed as close to the water line aspossible. The reason for this is that since oil does not expand, it ispreferable to slow down and form a plug in the flow of oil in the casing70 at the water level, since the movement of the ocean stream in thevicinity of the collar will draw off heat, and accordingly this willfacilitate the formation of a plug in the oil casing line 70. Control ofthe collar and the flow of cryothermal material therethrough ispreferably controlled by suitable electrically actuated or mechanicallyactuated valves (not shown).

Still a further application of the subject invention is with respect tothe control of pollution caused by oil on sandy beaches. Using thesubject invention, an oil slick on a beach would be sprayed with acryothermal material, preferably carbon dioxide or liquid nitrogen, soas to freeze the water at or just below the surface of the sand. Since,on freezing, ice will expand to a maximum of 9% of volume, the expandingice will lift the hardened oil slick up off the beach surface. Also, anyoil which has seeped into the interstices of the sand will be squeezedout. The resulting arrangement will be a layer ice. Hence, usingconventional scraping or shoveling techniques, the oil may be readilyremoved, with the required of ice. Hence, using conventional scraping orshoveling techniques, the oil may be readily removed, with the requiredremoval of sand being much less than presently obtained usingconventional techniques.

The subject invention may also be employed for the cryothermalmanipulation of petroleum in artic and subarctic regions to permitcertain typical handling of oil crudes. Transportation of oil in theartic can be achieved by tractor-train rather than by the use of aheated pipe line. Using the subject method of providing a cryothermalmaterial, and positioning it adjacent an oil mass, the oil may besolidified to a solid mass. After freezing, the ambient temperature ofthe artic region will retard thawing, whereby the solid mass of oilcrudes may be linked together and transported in a tractor-trainarrangement across a significant portion of the artic area.

As noted above, increased surface tension of a petroleum mass displacesentrained foreign matter, be it liquid, solid or gas. The reaction ofpetroleum to freezing, sub-freezing and cryogenics temperaturesaccordingly permits preliminary refining both of crude and used oil.Furthermore, when oil is confined within a container, the interiorsurfaces of the container provide exposed surfaces for transmitting coldtemperatures to the confined oil, thereby increasing the surface tensionof the confined oil. As the temperature of the oil is lowered, more ofthe entrained foreign matter and chemicals are displaced or squeezedout. Referring now to FIG. 9, a cylindrical container 80 is closed atits opposite ends and includes a generally horizontal planar screen 82disposed therein. A vent 84 is provided in the upper portion of thecontainer 80, as well as a cryothermal material inlet pipe 86, a waterinlet pipe 88, and a crude oil inlet pipe 90. Two water outlet pipes 92,92 are also provided, as well as two oil outlet pipes 94, 94. A manhole98 is provided, as well as a cryothermal oulet pipe 96. In operation,when the apparatus illustrated in FIG. 9 is used in a "batch process"according to the subject invention, cryothermal material, water, andcrude oil are input to the cylindrical container 80. The cryothermalmaterial causes a marked increase in the surface tension of the crudeoil, whereby it expells foreign matter, whether it be liquid, gas orsolids. The cryothermal material also causes a freezing of the water,generally in the vicinity of the screen 82, whereby the resultingproducts within the cylindrical container are, in order, a body ofwater, a layer of ice in the vicinity of screen 82, and the pre-refinedcrude oil disposed above the layer of ice. It is noted that theprovision of the water within the container 80 is particularlyadvantageous with respect to achieving the pre-refining of the crude oilin that water, being a universal solvent, will aid in the removal of theforeign matter from the oil as the surface tension thereof is increasedby the cryothermal material. Upon completion of the pre-refiningoperation, the materials within the cylindrical container 80 are allowedto thaw, and if desired, heating means may be provided to facilitate thethawing, after which the water and the pre-refined oil are removedrespectively via the outlets 92 and 94. In addition, the cryothermalmaterial is removed via the pipe 96. Since pressure is not requiredthrougout the process for pre-refining oil, the container 80 may be inthe form of an open tank and an arrangement could be made with thevarious materials, including the water, the crude oil, and thecryothermal material, being pumped into the container in a continuousmanner, and the pre-refining process being conducted in a continuousoperation. Preferably, the ratio of oil to water is 60% water to 40%oil.

Reference is now made to FIG. 10, which illustrates a flow diagram of acontinuous process according to the subject invention for pre-refiningoil as it leaves a well head at a drilling site. A processing containerof a type shown in FIG. 9 is designated by numeral 110 in FIG. 10, withthe addition of a bayonet heater, designated by numeral 112. The fluidleaving well head 114 is provided to an oil water separator 116, afterwhich the water passes through pump 118 and is deposited in salt watertank 120. The oil from oil water separator 116 is conveyed to oil pump122 and thence to oil holding tank 124. Salt water from holding tank 120is then conveyed to the oil refining vessel 110, along with oil from theoil holding tank 124. The pre-refined oil from oil refining vessel 110is conveyed through pump 126 to an refined oil tank 128, while the wateris conveyed via the water pump 130 to the used salt water holding tank132. From the refined oil holding tank 128, the oil is conveyed viaconventional means to an oil refinery for further processing. It shouldbe noted that, as a general rule, the fluid substances leaving the wellhead 114 generally comprises two-thirds salt water and one-third crudeoil.

The present invention has been described in detail above for thepurposes of illustration only and is not intended to be limited by thisdescription or otherwise except as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for recovering a body of petroleumconstituting an oil spill on a large body of water comprising the stepsof:providing a plurality of elongated booms each comprising material ata cryothermal temperature corresponding to the freezing point of waterat sea level or lower, which cryothermal temperature is lower than thetemperature of said body of petroleum, each of said elongated boomsbeing disposed in adjacent end-to-end pivotally connected relationship;floating said elongated booms in the body of water with said materialfacing and adjacent the periphery of said body of petroleum so as toincrease the surface tension of said body of petroleum that is adjacentthereto and cause it to move away therefrom into a more restricted area;and removing said body of petroleum from the water.
 2. A method forrecovering a body of petroleum as set forth in claim 1 wherein saidmaterial is dry ice.
 3. A method for recovering a body of petroleum asset forth in claim 1 wherein said booms are positioned adjacent threesides of said oil spill.
 4. Apparatus for recovering a body of petroleumconstituting an oil spill on a large body of water comprising:an oilcollection vessel; a floatable boom assembly including at least twopivotally connected, elongated booms, each boom carrying, at the levelof the water, an elongated block of material at a cryothermaltemperature corresponding to the freezing point of water at sea level orlower, which cryothermal temperature is lower than the temperature ofsaid body of petroleum so as to increase the surface tension thereofwhen said elongated block of material is positioned adjacent said bodyof petroleum; a guide wire assembly interconnecting said floatable guideassembly to said oil collection vessel; and suction apparatus forremoving the petroleum from said body of water and conveying same to thevessel for collection.
 5. Apparatus as in claim 4 wherein the floatableboom assembly includes three pivotally connected booms.
 6. Apparatus asin claim 4 wherein each boom of the floatable boom assembly includespivotally mounted keels.
 7. Apparatus as in claim 4 wherein said blockof material at cryothermal temperature comprises dry ice.
 8. Apparatusas in claim 4 wherein each floatable boom is generally L-shaped incross-section to accomodate said elongated block of material atcryothermal temperature.